DEVOTIONALS

We can be in our day what the heroes of faith were in their day,  but remember at the time they didn’t know they were heroes. -A.W. Tozer All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised;  they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,  admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. Hebrews 11:13 NIV Hebrews chapter 11 is a familiar text that outlines the “heroes of faith,” part of a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) that cheers us on.  I’m sure it’s beyond my understanding the

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 You and I only have one enemy.  One.  No matter who has done what, how I feel, what’s going wrong… Satan is the enemy.  He sends evil influences our way and his goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy,” (John 10:10). We must take him seriously and be aware of his tactics, “lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices,” (II Corinthians 2:11).

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.   In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV When I was a teenager, a wise Sunday School teacher (A.K.A. Pastor Odie Carroll) suggested reading a chapter a day from the book of Proverbs; thirty-one chapters coordinate nicely with the days of the month.  I did this for years and still love the wisdom of Proverbs today.  During the stressful times as a budding adult when so many life-altering decisions must be made, I clung to Proverbs 3:5-6.  It gave

The questions that matter in life are remarkably few and they are all answered by the words “Come unto Me.” Not – Do this or don’t do that, but – “Come unto Me.”(Matthew 11:28) -Oswald Chambers* How we complicate things!  Questioning, analyzing, working and doing, none of which are absolutely, necessarily sinful, but if fully embraced they can become a pit of doubt, disobedience, and despair.  That’s not where Jesus died for us to live.  The questions and even their answers won’t satisfy.    Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters and you who have no money, come, buy

We read in Luke 10:38-42 about the friends of Jesus: Mary and Martha; they had a brother named Lazurus, and scripture says Jesus loved them.  In Luke 10 Martha opened her home to Jesus and the disciples, served Him, and learned from Him.  In John 11, we find an even more familiar and miraculous story about this same family. Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet

I admit, I’m a recovering “Martha.”  Maybe that’s the biblical version of what people today call a “Karen.”  If you are familiar with the story in Luke 10, you may know what I mean.  Jesus is patient with all, even Marthas and Karens. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he [Jesus] entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord,

“Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” a deacon cried out at 3 a.m. in a cold barn in 1949 in the Hebrides Islands. He read Psalm 24:3-5 during a prayer meeting and asserted that they themselves needed to be sure they were “rightly related to God” as they asked Him for revival. At that cry, the Spirit of God undeniably fell, thousands were saved over the next few years, and we are still talking about it today!

Proverbs 26:20a says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out.” Matthew 3:10 says, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” If you have lost any passion or zeal for God, then it is time to rekindle those flames of revival. A true relationship with God is never dull or boring. If it is to you, then you are not doing something right. Your relationship with God should only create a longing for more of His presence!

Hosea 6:1-3 says, “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” The condition for the outpouring of revival is returning to the

Leviticus 6:13 (NASB) says, “Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.” The Ancient Greeks held a “lampadedromia” (the Greek word for Torch Relay), where athletes competed by passing on the flame in a relay race to the finish line. Fire was ignited with the help of a concave mirror, which has the ability to concentrate the rays of the sun on a single spot. When the head priestess touched that point with the Torch, the Flame was lit. (link) The goal was to reach the finish line as fast as possible with the